Description

This climb heads up cracks on the far left side of the Alcatraz Wall. This is the last major crag on the east side of the creek as you head down through Jailhouse Rock. To get there, continue down the creek past the point where it makes a 90 degree left turn below the Cell Blocks. Continue downhill past several bolted routes on the left (40 to Life, Mr. Meanor, & Mug Shot). At the bottom of the hill look up and left to see the Alcatraz Wall. Hoosgal is an easy gear lead up a fractured buttress. Gear placement isn't always as easy as the climbing, but this is a good beginner route.

There is plenty of placement for pro on this route, in fact I like to overplace on this route just for the practice of plugging my pro since I climb mostly sport. It is pretty much a staircase, but its a fun climb.

I found that there were plenty of places to put pro after the first 15 feet. I used one bolt from the route just left of Hoosgal to protect the lower section prior to getting to the crack. This is a great place to practice trad climbing as the climb is very easy and there are tons of places to put pro once you are on the crack.